quilting, decorating, parenting, loving life

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It’s been the winter of tree quilts here at my house for the week before Christmas.

It all started when I had a break in Christmas gift making and decided to make my version of Crazy Mom Quilts tree quilt for …gasp…MYSELF!! I know who makes a quilt for themselves at Christmas time? But I was in desperate need of a quilt for the couch that only I could use. People with teenaged kids will understand that sometimes you want a quilt that doesn’t smell like teenaged feet, and without drips of food on it.

I backed it with the softest, squishiest, loviest cuddle fabric, layered it with the highest, fluffiest batting, and quilted it with the fewest of lines to make it the darned most comfy quilt I’ve ever made!

Too comfy!! So comfy, in fact, there was a revolt in my house, and a demand for a most comfy quilt for said teenaged children.

Hence began my four day sewing rampage to make Christmas tree quilt presents for my littles. They were just in time for Christmas Eve gifting to compliment new jammies and slippers.

My eyes were seriously crossing putting in the last binding stitches. But oh so worth it! My quilt, I’m happy to say, is smell free, and so far no food spills!

I guess after you’ve made 1001 quilts you want to try some new things, get out of your comfort zone, ya know?

So when I had some Winter’s Lane scraps I decided to play around with an abstract quilt. I ended up with a nice big chunk of white space, and I kept envisioning a big red tree there. Hmmm? I could try and draw it with thread! I googled thread painting and there are some amazing images of what people can draw with thread.

I ironed some interfacing on the back and set to work trying my hand at thread painting. I put the feed dogs down and used the darning foot. So fun!! I just free handed it and let the lines go where they may.

The trunk is straight stitch and the branches are using a zig zag stitch. It’s totally a rookie try, and this one will probably end up shoved in a scrap bin, but I think I want to explore this technique some more!

I don’t think I’ve ever shared a recipe on my blog. There is a good reason for that: I’m a pretty lousy cook. I’m a great cocktail maker though, and I just have to share this cocktail with you.

Last weekend after The BG and I did a little Christmas shopping we stopped at Outback for dinner. I ordered the Sugarplum Martini and. it. was. AMAZING!!!

We had our putting-up-the-family-tree party the next night and since I already had to buy a few things to stock the holiday bar cart I bought the ingredients to make this fabulous, festive cocktail.

Sugarplum Martini

1 1/2 shots Grey Goose Vodka

(I used Tito’s which is higher rated but less expensive $20.00)

2 shots St Germain Elderflower Liquor

( I used Fleur because it’s $30.00. The St Germain was $50.00 and The BG said no way, even though I explained to him that was probably the most important part! But it tasted exactly like the original to me.)

2 shots Apothic Red

(this is a red blend wine that is about $10)

1 1/2 shots Amaretto

2 shots Pomegranate Juice

( I bought POM in the juice section at the grocery store for $10)

Pour all ingredients into shaker with ice. Shake, then pour into a sugar rimmed martini glass.

This should make enough for 2-3 cocktails depending on the size of your martini glasses. Mine are kind of small so we got 4 pours out of ours.

All the blogs I read are sharing Christmas decorating and I’m already done decorating for this year, dang it. I love reading blogs that share Christmas decorating, but I usually like to look at them in October when I’m generating ideas for the upcoming season. But that is just silly, people don’t decorate for Christmas in October just to blog about it, do they? If they do let me know, I’ll add them to my list! =)That’s one of the great things about Pinterest, you can look up Christmas decorating all year long.

So if you are sick of peoples Holiday Home tours, maybe you can bookmark this for next year? Read it in October hehehe.

I’m adding my dining room pictures today.

Thank you for reading! I hope you are enjoying the best season of the year!!!!

We are off to do a little shopping and then spend the weekend doing fun family Christmas stuff.

Excuse my iphone pics, but Woo HOO! I just put the last stitches in the binding for a new winter quilt for our bed. It’s been a long time since I’ve quilted a queen sized quilt on my little sewing machine. Now I remember why I send the big ones to a quilter. It’s tough going getting all that fabric under the needle.

But I’m glad I didn’t wait until I had the funds, because now we can sleep under a new quilt tonight! =)

Later gators,

Melissa

Edited: The pattern is free from HERE and the fabric I used was called Winter’s Lane.

It’s getting harder and harder each year to come up with something to make for my sisters-in-law. It’s tradition for me to gift them something handmade,and after 16 years in the family I’m running out of things to make for them. There are only so many useful things made out of fabric that people who don’t sew will use.

So this year I have resorted to making what’s inside more of the gift than the fabric part is. This is by no means an original idea, I was inspired by A Spoon Full of Sugar’s emergency pocket. I needed mine to be a little bigger, and I didn’t want to applique the cross, so I incorporated it into the patchwork. Ouch Pouches are cute little zipper bags filled with mommy-needed things that you can put in your purse, car, or diaper bag. I think they will be quite handy dandy indeed!

Place the front panel right side down in the middle of your zipper which is facing right side up. Sew using a zipper foot.

Flip over front panel and zipper and center your lining panel on the back side with fabric right side down. Sew with zipper foot. (you could do these two steps as one step layering front/zip/lining and sewing, but I don’t like to pin through zippers so I just do it in two steps so I can hold it with my hands and sew.)

Press seams and top stitch using a zipper foot.

Laying the piece down flat then fold your front panel up centering on the front side of zipper and sew with zipper foot.

Flip the piece over and fold your lining panel up centering on the back side of zipper and sew with zipper foot.

Unzip the zipper then press seams and top stitch with zipper foot. Don’t forget to top stitch!

Zip it back up, turn it so the front panel is right sides together on the inside, and the lining is right side out on the outside.

Using your ruler measure 1 1/4 inches and cut.

Using scissors cut ONLY THE LINING panel in half at the bottom crease.

Open your zipper a little more than 1/2 way for turning. Match everything right sides together and pin. Sew the sides of the bag using a 1/4 inch seam allowance. The zipper teeth should be folded in half and facing the front panel.

Sew about a 3/4 inch on either end of the lining panel bottom using a 1/4 inch seam allowance, back stitching at start and stop. This is your “turning hole.”

Now match up your corners until flat, and sew using 1/4 inch seam allowance, back stitching at the start and stop.

Finish the corners of the lining the same way using 1/4 inch seam allowance, back stitching at the start and stop. Trim off the extra zipper on both sides with scissors.

Pull the bag right side out through the “turning hole”, sew the turning hole closed and stuff lining down into bag. Zip it up and look at how cute it is!

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I'm Melissa. I'm so happy you stopped by to read what's been up in my world lately. I post about my quilting and home decorating adventures as they happen. Please feel free to leave a comment, I'd love to hear from you!

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